This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 6: Note - this is not 88%, it’s 88 proof. 88% would be... hot damn. So how would you interpret “Straight Bourbon Whiskey with Dark Cherry and Bourbon Vanilla Beans”? It’s the only designation on the bottle, and it feels misleading. My hope is those are tasting notes. My fear is that this is a damn mixed drink in a bottle. Nose: holy cow the cherry. Reminds me of a cherry wine. Very sugary. Not looking good folks. Body: jack and cherry coke. Mic drop. Finish: coke, sugar, cinnamon. It’s really hard to pick out bourbon. It’s a damn mixed drink in a bottle. It’s pretty good, and if I were a fan of jack and coke, I think this would be amazing. There’s a really weird carbonated mouth feel in the finish. It’s not carbonated from the shake test, but I think it’s just so reminiscent of a mixed drink that my brain is fooled. Directions on the back for “Elmo Cola”: 1) Fill rocks glass with ice. 2) Add 2oz St. Elmo Bourbon (bullshit, this is not bourbon) 3) Fill glass with cola 4) Garnish with 2 cherries. Honestly you could skip steps 3&4 and be just fine. It’s good, but not a bourbon. I don’t know if I actually have 25 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.